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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24506458">The Arc of Life</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/Rasnak'>Rasnak (orphan_account)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan (2020)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>AU, F/F, Mostly Fluff, Other, The Author Regrets Nothing, Trans Female Character, kinda song fic?, poem</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 06:34:11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>265</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24506458</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/Rasnak</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Kinda a song-fic featuring Rajni and Kusum</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kusum/Rajni Tripathi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Arc of Life</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I'd written it for pride month... last year. Wrote it in class hours actually... But since I wasn't on AO3 then... I'm posting it here now : )</p><p>Planned on making it a song fic but didn't have the heart to make it into a plot so... you're stuck with just the poem.</p><p>The poem is given in Kusum's POV.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>I stood before her,</em><br/>
<em>Hand out like an invite,</em><br/>
<em>She stared, calculating</em><br/>
<em>And took my hand in her's.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I stood before her,</em><br/>
<em>Spreading my arms wide,</em><br/>
<em>And she fell in without hesitation</em><br/>
<em>Eager to cry her heart out.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I stood before her,</em><br/>
<em>Flowers in hand for a date</em><br/>
<em>She gladly followed without questions,</em><br/>
<em>Off to the carnival parade.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I stood before her,</em><br/>
<em>With a box in hand, on my knees</em><br/>
<em>She gasped, she cried and pulled me close</em><br/>
<em>Kissing me head-on with a frantic yes.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I stood before her,</em><br/>
<em>Hand in hand in Church,</em><br/>
<em>'I do' she said with confidence,</em><br/>
<em>Immediately echoed back by me.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I stood before her, </em><br/>
<em>Hands twitching in doubt</em><br/>
<em>She swept me off my feet,</em><br/>
<em>Spinning in circles of joy.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>She stood before me,</em><br/>
<em>I, tired with my hands outstretched,</em><br/>
<em>She placed in my hand, a bundle of joy</em><br/>
<em>As I wept silently with relief and delight.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>And now, I stand before her,</em><br/>
<em>With silent pleas to come back</em><br/>
<em>But she lay there, still and silent</em><br/>
<em>With a plaque that read:</em><br/>
<em>'RIP, a loving husband and father'.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Explanations:</p><p>Rajni is a trans-woman... and she hasn't opted for any of the medical surgeries to transform herself.</p><p>Obviously the family knows about her orientation and loves her.</p><p>And she falls for Kusum, they are happily married. And if you didn't catch it, Kusum was pregnant with Rajni's child, not a surrogate one.</p><p>The last line though... the society on the whole still sees her as a male, and hence the plaque that read 'RIP a Loving husband and Father', for the society's sake.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Well... I hope you like my poor excuse of a poem.</p><p>I wanted to adapt it so that I can depict Karman here, with Kartik as a trans-male but... I don't think it would've ended up well so... yeah. Hope you all like it! All comments and criticism accepted and appreciated!</p><p>Thank you all for reading!</p><p>Rasnak signing off :) ;)</p><p>Published on 2 June 2020</p></blockquote></div></div>
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